Cooperative Extension
Colorado State University

FROM THE GROUND UP

DECEMBER 2002
VOLUME 22
ISSUE 6

Beans

Introduction
There has been declining dry bean acreage and production in Colorado over the last ten years. In 2002, Colorado was the seventh largest producer of dry beans with the lowest production since 1921. Colorado producers annually spend over $5 million on pinto bean seed to plant which means that the bean variety decision is extremely important. The average yield performance over multiple locations is a powerful tool and unbiased, reliable performance results from a uniform variety trial help Colorado dry bean producers make better variety decisions. 2002 was the fourth year that the uniform variety trial was planted at six locations. It was planted at four eastern Colorado locations: Proctor (Platte River Valley), Fort Collins (Front Range), Burlington (Golden Plains), and Rocky Ford, (Arkansas River Valley) and at two western Colorado locations: Fruita and Yellow Jacket. The Fort Collins trial was planted late, had poor emergence, and suffered from soil compaction and high temperatures which resulted in low and variable yields and the results were not reported. The Burlington trial results reported here could not be interpreted due to stunted plant growth resulting from a combination of soil compaction, residual herbicide effects, and severe high temperature stress.

The uniform variety trial serves a dual purpose of screening new CO lines emerging from CSU’s pinto bean breeding program, allowing fast and reliable selection of promising new, high yielding and disease resistant lines. The uniform variety trial is made possible by funding received from Colorado dry bean producers via the Colorado Dry Bean Administrative Committee.

A randomized complete block field design with three replicates was used in all trials. The seeding rate was approximately 85,120 seeds per acre with plots consisting of four 30-inch rows 36 feet long. All trials were situated in commercial bean fields or on CSU research stations. Seed yields, in pounds per acre, were adjusted to 14% moisture content. Disease pressure was low at all test sites during 2002. Click here for 2002 performance trial results.

Mark Brick, Jerry Johnson, and Howard Schwartz
Agronomy, Crop Production, and Plant Pathology
Extension Specialists
Colorado State University

FROM THE GROUND UP agronomy news is a monthly publication of Cooperative Extension, Department of Soil & Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Web Site: http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/SoilCrop/extension/Newsletters/news.html

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